49
SHARA
Igave a gentle, polite knock on Carys’ bond. Even when she wasn’t hyper focused on a book or research project, she could be a little prickly.:Wanna go to court with me?:
She replied almost immediately.:Where?:
:Paris.:
I had a vision of her owl’s wings fluttering with excitement.:Oh yes, my queen.:
:Perfect. Head over to the Park Avenue house, and I’ll pick you up when we go tonight. I want to be there before dawn in Paris.:
Shifting my focus back to my surroundings, I laid out the first stage of war preparations. “First, very quietly, open our house in Paris. I don’t intend to stay there long, but while everything else is happening, I need a place where our larger party can be gathered and ready at a moment’s notice.”
Gina typed rapidly on her phone. “Done.” She looked up at me, so familiar with how my magic worked that she already knew what else I needed. “If you want to move into the living room, I can put pictures of the house and its very lovely water feature on the larger screen.”
Nodding, I started to rise. Of course immediately everyoneleaped into action. Guillaume still had my hand, so he tucked my arm around his while Rik hovered, naturally keeping himself between me and the two humans we didn’t exactly trust yet. Sekh was already on the move to the larger room, and other Blood took up position at the rear door.
“Thank you, Winston.”
He bowed just as formally as Julie had curtsied. “A pleasure as always, Your Majesty. Would you like desserts and coffee brought in later?”
“That would be lovely. Thank you. Would you like to go to Paris with us?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Your Majesty. Unless you need me here…?”
I patted his arm as we passed. “You’re always welcome to come with me anywhere we go, but especially when we’re doing formalities. I may need your coaching on proper etiquette.”
“Then you may wish for Magnum to attend as well, Your Majesty. She has experience from the London court.”
Following us, Gina said, “I’ve already texted her. She’s packing a bag.”
That gave me the polite opening I’d been looking for. “Julie, Regina, why don’t you go pack as well. Just a change or two of clothes in a bag you can easily carry. I’m not planning on an extended stay.”
“In Paris?” Regina squeaked out. “What does one even wear in Paris?”
Gina laughed. “Sounds like we may need to do a little shopping after business, my queen.”
“Absolutely.”
“How quickly do we need to be ready to leave?” Julie asked.
Rik sat in our chair and pulled me up against him. I met Sekh’s gaze and he shook his head, so Marne had not left her Paris home yet. “Not immediately. Get some sleep if you can,but be ready at a moment’s notice. We will likely leave yet tonight under cover of darkness.”
“Oh my god!” Regina gasped. “I don’t have my passport.”
My lips quirked. “You won’t need it.”
“But— Are you sure? It’s a foreign country.” Realizing who she was arguing with, her eyes widened and she clamped her lips shut. Then quickly added, “Your Majesty. Sorry.”
“We won’t be going through an airport or customs, so you shouldn’t need formal identification,” Gina said. “Though it won’t be a bad idea to retrieve your passport for any future traveling we do. When we get back, I’ll help you arrange a trip home to Texas so you can get anything else you may need.”
The young woman’s brow scrunched up and she opened her mouth. Shut it. I could see a million questions flickering through her eyes, but she wisely followed the other woman outside. Vore stood guard at the front door, and in his bond, I saw the two women pause a moment, chatting quickly and excitedly, then they split up and headed down different paths to their houses.
I would feel more confident in their trustworthiness once Carys had a look at them.
By the time I re-focused on my surroundings, all of my Blood not currently on duty had joined us.
